Container for storing semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

A container for storing semiconductor devices is revealed. The container includes a receiving body and a cover. The receiving body is disposed with at least one fastener and at least one driver therein. The fastener includes a rolling element that is in contact with the driver. When the driver is rotated, it drives the fastener to move in the receiving body. At least one fixing part of the fastener is moved toward at least one fastening part of the cover. The cover is fixed on the receiving body by the fixing part locked in the fastening part. Moreover, friction between the fastener and the driver is minimized by the rolling element which reduces contact area between the fastener and the driver so as to prevent production of contaminants in the container and protect semiconductor devices stored in the container from being polluted. Thus the container is of high cleanness.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a container, especially to a containerfor storing semiconductor devices.

2. Description of Related Art

Semiconductor chips whose linear width is smaller than 90 nm have beenproduced in wafer foundries or in semiconductor fabrication plants dueto breakthroughs and developments in wafer fabrication techniques. Moresemiconductor devices per unit wafer are produced along with theminimized linear width and the increased integrated density. But thesemiconductor devices with high integrated density are quite sensitive.Even a bit of contaminants such as particles, dust, organic materials,gas, volatiles, etc result in defects in the semiconductor devices, orstatic electricity and a short circuit that damage the semiconductordevices.

In general manufacturing processes of semiconductor devices, a cleanroom with a low level of air pollutants is used for protection of thesemiconductor devices. After being produced, a protective container isrequired for pollution control of the semiconductor devices duringtransportation of the semiconductor devices.

To prevent damages to semiconductor devices occurred duringtransportation or storage, many techniques that focus on the improvementof container structure and fastening members in the container have beenprovided. In an operating system of a standardized mechanical interface,a machine pin is inserted into a driver of a fastening member in thecontainer so as to open and close the container.

However, friction occurs between components of fastening members in thecontainer. Thus not only operation of the fastening member is unstablebut the container is not opened or closed smoothly. Even somecontaminants are produced due to the friction and the semiconductordevices stored in the container get polluted.

In order to solve the above problems, there is a need to have a novelcontainer for storing semiconductor devices that includes at least onefastening member having at least one fastener and at least one driver. Arolling element is mounted on the fastener for reducing contact areabetween the fastener and the driver and minimizing friction between thefastener and the driver. Thus no contaminants produced in the containerand the semiconductor devices in the container will not be polluted. Thecontainer is of high cleanness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore it is a primary object of the present invention to provide acontainer for storing semiconductor devices that includes a fasteningmember having at least one fastener and at least one driver. Thefastener is mounted with a rolling element in contact with the driver.Thus contact area between the fastener and the driver is reduced andfriction between the fastener and the driver is minimized to preventproduction of contaminants and protect the semiconductor devices in thecontainer. The high cleanness of the container is attained. Moreover,the rolling element is moved along with rotation of the driver andfriction between the fastener and the driver is effectively reduced.Thus the fastening member works well and the container is opened andclosed smoothly.

In order to achieve the above objects, a container for storingsemiconductor devices of the present invention includes a cover, areceiving body with at least one insertion hole on a side wall, and adriver. The receiving body consists of at least one fastener disposedtherein. The fastener is composed of a fastening body, at least onefixing part, a driving part and a rolling element. The fixing part isarranged at one side of the fastening body and corresponding to theinsertion hole of the receiving body while the driving part is disposedon the other side of the fastening body. The rolling part is mounted onthe driving part. The driver is disposed in the receiving body, againstthe driving part and in contact with the rolling element of thefastener. The cover is covered over the receiving body that includes atleast one fastening part at the side wall thereof. The fastening part iscorresponding to the insertion hole. When the driver is rotated, itdrives the fastener to move in the receiving body. The fixing part ofthe fastener is inserted through the insertion hole of the receivingbody to be mounted on the fastening part of the cover. Thus the cover isfixed on the receiving body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present inventionto achieve the above and other objects can be best understood byreferring to the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is an explosive view of a container of an embodiment according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2 is partial explosive view of container of an embodiment accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 3 is another partial explosive view of container of an embodimentaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a driver of an embodiment according tothe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a fastener assembled with a driver of anembodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a receiving body of an embodimentaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing of an elastic element of an embodimentaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a partial explosive view of container of another embodimentaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a fastener assembled with a driver ofanother embodiment according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

For solving the problem of friction occurred between each component ofthe fastening member of the container that cause contamination ofsemiconductor stored in the container, a container for storingsemiconductor devices of the present invention is provided.

Refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a container for storingsemiconductor devices 1 includes a cover 10, a receiving body, and aseal plate 112. At least one semiconductor device is loaded on an outersurface of the receiving body 111 and the cover 10 is disposed over theouter surface of the receiving body 111. The receiving body 111 ismounted with a fastening member therein and the seal plate 112 isagainst the fastening member for fixing the fastening member in thereceiving body 111. The cover 10 is fixed on the receiving body 111 bythe fastening member. Thus the container 1 is airtight and is free fromexternal contaminants. Therefore the semiconductor device (such asphotomask, wafer or others) will not be polluted. For further increasingair-tightness of the container 1, a seal 14 is set between the cover 10and the receiving body 111 to prevent contaminants from entering thecontainer 1. Thus a high level of cleanness is achieved in the container1.

The receiving body 111 is composed of an inner surface 1111 and a sidewall 1112 around a periphery of the inner surface 1111. Thus a receivingspace is formed in the receiving body 111. The fastening member of thisembodiment is mounted in the receiving space and is having two fasteners121 and a driver 122. The two fasteners 121 are symmetrically arrangedat the inner surface 1111 of the receiving body 111 and each fastener121 consists of a fastening body 1211 and two fixing parts 1212 disposedon one side of the fastening body 1211. The side wall 1112 of thereceiving body 111 is set with four insertion holes 1110 respectivelycorresponding to four fixing parts 1212 of the two fasteners 121. As tothe cover 10, its sidewall is also arranged with four fastening parts102 (as shown in FIG. 1) corresponding to the four insertion holes 1110of the receiving body 111 respectively. Thus the four fixing parts 1212of the two fasteners 121 are respectively passed through the fourinsertion holes 1110 of the receiving body 111 so as to fix the cover 10on the receiving body 111. The fixing part 1212 is a convex part whilethe fastening part 102 corresponding to the fixing part 1212 is a slotin this embodiment. The fixing part 1212 and the fastening part 102 canalso be in other forms that lock with each other.

Refer to FIG. 4, the driver 122 is disposed on the inner surface of thereceiving body 111 and is between the two fasteners 121. Moreover, theinner surface of the receiving body 111 is arranged with a pivot part1113 as shown in FIG. 3. The driver 122 consists of a driving body 1221and a rotating shaft 1222 (as shown in FIG. 2). The driving body 1221includes a first surface 12211 and a second surface 12212 while therotating shaft 1222 is disposed on the first surface 12211 of thedriving body 1221 and is pivotally connected to the pivot part 1113 (asshown in FIG. 3). Thus the driver 122 is rotatable in the receiving body111. Moreover, a bearing 1114 is further disposed on the pivot part 1113of the receiving body 111 and the rotating shaft 1222 is pivotallyconnected to the bearing 1114 for being pivotally connected to the pivotpart 1113. The bearing 114 is used to reduce friction between the pivotpart 1113 and the rotating shaft 1222 and allow the driver 122 rotatingsmoothly in the receiving body 111.

Refer to FIG. 2 ad FIG. 5, the driver 122 further includes two guidingmembers 1223, respectively is a projecting rod. The two guiding members1223 project from the first surface 12211 of the driving body 1221 andrespectively extend from the rotating shaft 1222 to a periphery of thedriving body 1221. The other side of the fastening body 1211 of eachfastener 121 is arranged with a driving part 1213. The driving parts1213 of the two fasteners 121 are respectively located between the twoguiding members 1223 of the driver while the two guiding members 1223are against the corresponding driving part 1213 respectively.

The seal plate is fixed under the receiving body 111 and is against thesecond surface 12212 of the driving body 1221 of the driver 122 forfixing the driver 122 between the inner surface 1111 of the receivingbody 111 and the seal plate 112. Thus the fastening member is fixed inthe receiving body 111. In this embodiment, the rotating shaft 1222 isnot directly fixed on the driver in the receiving body 111 so that aforce opposite to the rotating shaft 1222 will not be generated around aperiphery of the driver 122. And the driver 122 will not be affected bythe force and become unstable during rotation.

Back to FIG. 3, there are two insert holes 1121 on the seal plate 112.In this embodiment, each insert hole 1121 is curved. The driving body1221 of the driver 122 is arranged with two driving holes 1224. Eachdriving hole 1224 penetrates the driving body 1221 to the guiding member1223, without penetrating the guiding member 1223. Thus the driving hole1224 is a blind hole. The two insert holes 1121 of the seal plate 112are corresponding to the two driving holes 1224 of the driver 122. Whenusers want to rotate the driver 122, a pin 2 is inserted through theinsert holes 1121, inserted into the driving holes 1224 and then movedwithin the inset holes 1121 for driving the driver 122 to rotate.

When the driver 122 is rotated, the two guiding members 1223 of thedriver 122 push the two driving parts 1213 of the two fasteners 121 andthe two fasteners 121 move horizontally within the receiving body 111.While the driver 122 being rotated counterclockwise, the two guidingmembers 1223 push the two driving parts 1213 of the two fasteners 121.Thus the two fasteners 121 move toward two sides of the receiving body111 respectively and the fixing parts 1212 of each fastener 121 aremoved to be locked in the fastening parts 102 of the cover 10. Ad thecover 10 is fastened on the receiving body 111. Once the driver 122 isrotated clockwise, the two guiding members 1223 push the two drivingparts 1213 of the two fasteners 121 to move toward the center of thereceiving body 111. Thus the fixing parts 1212 of each fastener 121 arereleased from the fastening parts 102 of the cover 10. Therefore thecover 10 and the receiving body 11 are separated from each other.

Still refer to FIG. 3, for linear movement of the fastener 121, thereceiving body 111 is further mounted with two first stopping parts1115. The two first stopping parts 115 are respectively located on twosides of the two fasteners 121 so as to move horizontally between thetwo stopping parts 1115. In other words, the stopping parts 115 areparallel to the movement direction of the fasteners 121. Furthermore,the receiving body 111 is further disposed with two first stopping parts1116 respectively located on two sides of the driver 122. Two stoppingmembers 1225 are disposed on a periphery of the driving body 1221 of thedriver 122. The two stopping members 1225 are respectively locatedbetween the two second stopping parts 1116. Also refer to FIG. 6, whenthe driver 122 is rotated, the two stopping members 1225 of the driver122 are respectively moved between the two second stopping parts 1116 soas to restrict the rotation angle of the driver 122. Moreover, two thirdstopping parts 1117 are arranged at the inner surface 1111 of thereceiving body 111 and the fastening body 1211 of each fastener 121 isdisposed with a positioning hole 1214. Each third stopping part 1117 iscorresponding to the positioning hole 1214 so as to limit the positionof the two fasteners 121 in the receiving body 111.

The receiving body further includes a plurality of supporting parts 1118arranged between the two first stopping parts 1115 and under the twofasteners 121 for supporting the two fasteners 121. The supporting parts1118 keep the two fasteners 121 away from the inner surface 1111 of thereceiving body 111 and reduce contact area between the two fasteners 121and the inner surface 1111 of the receiving body 111. Thus the frictionforce between the two fasteners 121 and the inner surface 1111 of thereceiving body 111 is reduced. Therefore the two fasteners 121 movesmoothly on the inner surface 1111 of the receiving body 111.

Refer to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5, the driver 122 is furtherdisposed with two pressing parts 1226 each of which is a projectingblock that projects from the first surface 12211 of the driving body1221. The two pressing parts 1226 respectively are located between thetwo guiding members 1223. The pressing part 1225 includes a guidingsurface 12261 and a positioning slot 12262. While the driver 122 beingrotated counterclockwise, one side of the fastener 121 with the drivingpart 1213 is against the guiding surface 12261 of the correspondingpressing part 1226. The guiding surface 12261 against the surface of thedriving part 1213 is moved along the surface of the driving part 1213along with the rotation of the driver 122. Thus the one side of thefastener 121 with the driving part 1213 is descended along with theguiding surface 12261 while one side of the fastener 121 with the fixingparts 1212 is ascended. Thus the fixing parts 1212 are locked with thefastening parts 102 of the cover 10 and the container 1 is with goodair-tightness. A ramp 12111 is disposed on one side of the driving part1213 of each fastener 121 that is against the pressing part 1226. Thepressing part 1226 is moved along the ramp 12111 of the fastening body1211 to the surface of the driving part 1213 and then moved along thesurface of the driving part 1213, as shown in FIG. 5.

Two rolling parts 1227 are mounted on the driving body 1221 of thedriver 122, under the pressing part 1226. When the driver 122 isrotated, the rolling parts 1227 allow the driver not in direct contactwith the seal plate 112. Thus friction between the driver 122 and theseal plate 112 is reduced. Moreover, the two rolling parts 1227 arerolled along with rotation of the driver 122 so that the driver 122 isrotated stably. Thus contaminants produced by the friction between thedriver 122 and the seal plate 112 are reduced so as to protect thesemiconductor device from contamination. The rolling part 1227 of thisembodiment is a bearing and is able to be other component.

Although the two rolling parts 1227 enable the driver 122 rotatingstably, there is still friction occurred between the rolling parts 1227and the seal plate 112. Thus there may be some contaminants produced tocontaminate the semiconductor devices. A wear-resistant part 1122 isattached to the seal plate 112 and located between the seal plate 112and the two rolling parts 1227 so as to reduce friction between therolling parts 1227 and the seal plate 112 and minimize abrasion of theseal plate 112 caused by the rolling parts 1227. The amount ofcontaminants produced is further minimized so as to preventcontamination of the semiconductor devices in the container 1.

Back to FIG. 6, the receiving body 111 further includes two connectingparts 1119 respectively located on one side of the correspondingfastener 121. The fastening body 1211 of each fastener 121 is alsodisposed with a connecting member 1215. Each connecting part 1119 isconnected to the corresponding connecting member 1215 of the fastener121 by an elastic part 13. Each first stopping part 1115 of thereceiving body 111 includes a slot 11151 that is inserted by thecorresponding elastic part 13. The length of the elastic part 13 isshorter than the thickness of the receiving body 111 so that thereceiving body 111 is completely closed by the seal plate 12 of thecontainer 112. The position of each fastener 121 being locked with thefastening parts 102 of the cover 10 is defined as the original positionof the fastener 121. When the two fasteners 121 are moved toward thecenter of the receiving body 111, the elastic part 13 is also movedtoward the center of the receiving body 111 along with the fastener 121and then to be stopped by one side of the slit 11151. A restoring forceis produced by the elastic part 13 due to material elasticity when theelastic part 13 is in contact with and stopped by the side of the slit11151. The restoring force enables the fastener 121 turning back to theoriginal position. When the driver 122 is not working normally, theelastic parts 13 still make the fasteners 121 turn back to theiroriginal position. The fasteners 121 are fastened to the fastening parts102 of the cover 10 to prevent the receiving 111 and the cover 10 fromseparating from each other.

With reference to FIG. 7, the elastic part 13 includes a first part 131and a second part 132 connected to the first part 131. The second part132 is inclined downward with respect to the first part 131 to pressagainst the fastening body 1211 of the fastener 121. One end of thefirst part 131 is disposed on the connecting part 1119 of the receivingbody 111 and one end of the second part 132 is set on the connectingmember 1215 of the fastener 121.

When the driving part 1213 of the fastener 121 is pressed by thepressing parts 1226, the fixing part of the fastener 1212 is lifted andfastened to the fastening parts 102. The second part 132 of the elasticpart 13 inclined downward with respect to the first part 131 of theelastic part 13 is pressing against the fastening body 1211 so as tomake the fixing part 1212 of the fastener 12 stay in the ascended stateand lock with the fastening part 102 of the cover 10. Thus the container1 has a high level of air-tightness.

Refer to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, another embodiment of the present inventionis disclosed. As shown in figure, friction occurs between the pressingparts 1226 of the driver 122 and the driving parts 1213, when the driver122 is rotated and is in contact with a part of the surface of eachdriving part 1213. In order to minimize the friction between the driver122 and the driving part 1213, a rolling element 12110 is arranged atthe driving part 1213 of the fastener 121 where the friction occurs.Thus the rolling surface 12261 of the pressing part 1226 of the driver122 is in contact with the rolling element 12110 on the driving part1213 of the fastener 121 and the contact area between the driving part1213 and the pressing part 1226 is reduced. Therefore friction betweenthe driving parts 1213 and the pressing parts 1226 is further reduced tominimize production of contaminants and protect the semiconductordevices in the container.

While the driver 122 being rotated, the driver 122 drives the rollingelement 12110 to roll because that the guiding surface 12261 of thepressing part 1226 of the driver 122 is in contact with the rollingelement 12110 on the driving part 1213 of the fastener 121. Then therolling element 12110 is rolled and moved along the guiding surface12261. The positioning slot 12262 is arranged at a rear end of theguiding surface 12261. When the rolling element 12110 is rolled alongthe guiding surface 12261 and moved to the positioning slot 12262, therolling element 12110 is stopped and positioned by the positioning slot12262. Thus the fixing part 1212 of the fastener 121 is fixed on thefastening part 102 of the cover 10. In this embodiment, the frictionbetween the rolling element 12110 and the guiding surface 12261 isreduced by the rolling element 12110 rolling along the guiding surface12261. Thus the driver 122 smoothly drives the fastener 121 to move inthe receiving body 111 and enables the fastening member working well.Therefore the container 1 is opened and closed smoothly. The rollingelement 12110 of this embodiment can be a bearing or other component.The rolling element 12110 can also be applied to other structure wherethe driver 122 is fastened to the receiving body 111.

In summary, the present invention provides a container for storingsemiconductor devices in which a cover is fixed on a receiving body by afastening member in the receiving body so as to seal the container andprotect the container from contamination. The fastening member consistsof at least one fastener and at least one driver. The fastener and thedriver are disposed on the receiving body. The driver is fixed in thereceiving body by a seal plate against the driver instead of beingfastened by screws. Thus the driver is rotated stably. The driver isarranged with two rolling parts that reduce contact area between thedriver and the seal plate to prevent contaminants produced by frictionbetween the driver and the seal plate and protect semiconductor devicesstored in the container from contamination. Moreover, a wear-resistantpart is attached to the seal plate where the seal plate is in contactwith the two rolling parts so as to reduce the amount of contaminantsproduced by the friction between the rolling parts and the seal plateand protect the semiconductor devices in the container.

Furthermore, each fastener of the fastening member is set with a rollingelement in contact with the driver. The rolling element is used forreducing contact area between the driver and the fastener to minimizecontaminants produced by friction between the driver and the fastener.Thus the semiconductor devices stored in the container will not bepolluted. The rolling element is rolled along with rotation of thedriver to reduce the friction therebetween and ensure smooth operationof the driver that drivers the fastener to move in the receiving body.Thus the fastening member runs smoothly and the container is opened andclosed smoothly.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects isnot limited to the specific details, and representative devices shownand described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventiveconcept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalent.

What is claimed is:
 1. A container for storing semiconductor devicescomprising: a receiving body with at least one insertion hole on a sidewall thereof and having at least one fastener disposed in the receivingbody while the fastener having a fastening body, at least one fixingpart, a driving part and a rolling element; the fixing part iscorresponding to the insertion hole of the receiving body and arrangedat one side of the fastening body while the driving part is set on theother side of the fastening body and the rolling element is mounted onthe driving part; a driver pivotally connected to the receiving body,against the driving part and in contact with the rolling element of thefastener; and a cover arranged at an outer side of the receiving bodyand having at least one fastening part on a side wall thereof while thefastening part is corresponding to the insertion hole; wherein thedriver drives the fastener to move in the receiving body and the fixingpart of the fastener is inserted through the insertion hole of thereceiving body to be mounted on the fastening part so as to fix thecover on the receiving body when the driver is rotated.
 2. The device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the container for storing semiconductordevices further includes a seal arranged between the cover and thereceiving body.
 3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein thereceiving body further includes at least one supporting part disposedtherein and located under the fastener to support the fastener.
 4. Thedevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receiving body furtherincludes two first stopping parts disposed in the receiving body; thefirst stopping parts are arranged at two sides of the fastenerrespectively and are parallel to movement direction of the fastener. 5.The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receiving body furtherincludes two second stopping parts disposed in the receiving body andtwo stopping members arranged at the driver; the second stopping partsare respectively set between the two stopping members of the driver; thestopping members of the driver are respectively moveable between the twosecond stopping parts.
 6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein thereceiving body further includes at least one third stopping partdisposed in the receiving body and mounted into a positioning hole ofthe fastening body.
 7. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecontainer for storing semiconductor devices further includes an elasticpart; one end of the elastic part is connected to a connecting part ofthe receiving body and the other end thereof is connected to aconnecting member of the fastener.
 8. The device as claimed in claim 7,wherein the elastic part includes a first part and a second part; oneend of the first part is connected to the connecting part of thereceiving body while one end of the second part is connected to theconnecting member of the fastener; the second part is inclined withrespect to the first part.
 9. The device as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe driver includes a driving body having a first surface and a secondsurface corresponding to the first surface; the first surface is incontact with the fastener; and a rotating shaft that is disposed on thefirst surface of the driving body and is arranged at a pivot part of thereceiving body.
 10. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein thereceiving body further includes a bearing disposed on the pivot part andthe rotating shaft is arranged at the bearing.
 11. The device as claimedin claim 9, wherein the driver further includes at least one guidingmember projecting from the first surface of the driving body, extendingfrom the rotating shaft to a periphery of the driving body and againstthe driving part of the fastening body.
 12. The device as claimed inclaim 9, wherein the container for storing semiconductor devices furtherincludes a seal plate that is fixed under the receiving body andcovering the fastener and the driver.
 13. The device as claimed in claim12, wherein the seal plate includes at least one insert hole that iscorresponding to at least one driving hole of the driver and is allowingat least one pin to insert through; the pin is inserted through theinsert hole, inserted into the driving hole and is moveable within theinsert hole so as to rotate the driver.
 14. The device as claimed inclaim 9, wherein the driver further includes at least one pressing partthat projects from the first surface of the driving body and contactswith the rolling element.
 15. The device as claimed in claim 14, whereina surface of the pressing part corresponding to the driving part is aguiding surface; one side of the fastener close to the driving part isascended and descended along with the guiding surface; the rollingelement is against the guiding surface of the pressing part.
 16. Thedevice as claimed in claim 15, wherein a positioning slot is disposed ona rear end of the guiding surface and the rolling element is mounted inthe positioning slot.
 17. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein therolling element is a bearing.
 18. The device as claimed in claim 1,wherein the driver is fastened in the receiving body.
 19. The device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the driver is pivotally disposed on thereceiving body.
 20. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein thedriver is pivotally disposed on the receiving body while the seal plateis fastened under the receiving body and is pressing the driver againstthe receiving body.
 21. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein thecontainer for storing semiconductor devices further includes awear-resistant part disposed on the seal plate and corresponding to thedriver.
 22. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the driverfurther includes at least one rolling part mounted on the driving bodyand in contact with the seal plate.
 23. The device as claimed in claim22, wherein the rolling part is a bearing.